To Raise A Saviour
by Animagus Anonymous
Summary: On the fateful Halloween that changed the wizarding world, James Potter is Harry's only surviving parent. How will he raise Harry alone and cope with the death of his wife? And how will he meet the challenges in Harry's life to come? Written originally for the Houses Competition's winter challenge as a oneshot, but I can make this into a full story if requested. Please R&R!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Written for the Houses Competition Winter Challenge. Is just a one-shot for now, but will flesh out later into full story if requested.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or the characters, those belong to our queen, her Majesty J.K. Rowling.**

 **Category: AUs**

 **Prompt: Only Lily died (not James)**

Someone was talking, but his befuddled mind couldn't form cohesive words from the sounds. Where was he? It was completely dark, and he couldn't hear anything besides the voice and an infernal _ringing_ , but there was something hard, uneven, and uncomfortable under his back. He tried to focus. There had been… some sort of light… green, maybe, and a blast? Another sound entered his mind– a scream. It was a woman's voice, a voice of pure terror. As he remembered the sound, he could feel mounting panic. How did he know that voice? He was sure he did know it, sure it belonged to someone familiar, someone important…

"Lily!" James sat up, eyes darting around frantically as memories flooded his mind. Someone shook him and his eyes focused on another familiar, very important someone– Sirius.

"Sirius! Where's Lily?"

"Oh, thank Merlin," his friend replied instead, collapsing onto the rubble beside him. "James, you're alive."

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

Sirius sat up, incredulous. " _Why wouldn't you be?_ Because bleeding You-Know-Who showed up, that's _why_." Only now did James notice the tear tracks lining Sirius' grimy face. Sirius let out a shaky breath. "Honestly."

"Where's Lily? And Harry?" James asked. Sirius froze. James didn't need an answer. He bolted up the stairs two at a time, hearing Sirius hot on his heels.

"James–"

In the nursery, there was a sight so horrible James sunk to his knees. Sirius slumped with a thud next to him, but that didn't matter, because his wife was on the floor. Dead.

James' throat closed up as he shook his head. No sound escaped him except for a low whine.

"Lily," Sirius whispered beside him. "She can't– no! She–"

He was cut off by a scream of agony. The grief built up in James' soul until it burst out in a wailing, animalistic howl of unadulterated pain. He crawled to her body and shook it. "Lily! Lily! Wake up! Wake up!" he sobbed. "Come back, Lily! I need you! Please!"

"James," Sirius whispered hoarsely, scooting over to gently remove his hands from her arms. "She's not going to wake up."

"No," he moaned. " _No_." James collapsed against Sirius, breaking down with sobs. The brothers held each other close in their grief. "And Harry–" James was unable to finish the thought out loud, and he buried his face in Sirius' shoulder.

"Oh my god," Sirius breathed. "What the hell–? Oh my–" The color drained from his face. "James." He pointed. "James, is that–"

The broken man's face emerged, blotchy and wet. He hiccuped. "What?" His eyes widened and his mouth made a small _O_ as he saw the second body. It was cloaked, so they couldn't be sure, but James could take a fairly good guess.

It was the body of Lord Voldemort.

James slowly rose, and Sirius, hesitant, followed. James drew his wand from his robes and approached the body cautiously. He asked, "Do you think he's really–?"

"I hope so."

"How? How in Circe's–"

"I don't know, but if he's not dead–"

"This could be our chance," James murmured. "We could finally kill him once and for all."

Sirius nodded. "I'll turn him over and you'll have the spell ready?"

James nodded back shakily, his eyes growing hard as he aimed at his target. "On the count of three. One… two… three."

Sirius kicked the body over and James bellowed, " _AVADA KEDAVRA!_ "

But the light was gone from Lord Voldemort's eyes.

"James! He's dead!"

But the Potter was hopping around like a fiend, casting madly. "Avada Kedavra! Crucio! Take _that_!" He kicked the limp form in the face with all his strength. "And that!" Another jet of green flew from his wand and hit the corpse square in the chest, though it had no effect. "And _that_ , you vile bastard!"

Sirius overcame his shock and rushed at his increasingly dangerous friend. "James! He's dead! Stop! It won't do any good! James!" He grabbed his friend from behind, pinning his arms to his sides. Sirius wrenched the wand from James' hand and cast a hurried Leg-Locking curse when he whirled on him.

"He took everything from me! _EVERYTHING!_ " James howled as he struggled futilely. "He destroyed my family! He took Lily! He took Harry! I'll destroy him!"

His rage was disrupted by a cry– the cry of a baby.

The men froze. The baby's cry sounded again, more insistent this time.

"Harry?" Sirius gasped. He approached the crib, which he had not dared to peer into for fear of what he'd find inside. Slowly, he peeked over the bars, preparing for the worst– But there was Harry, wailing and traumatized, yes, but he was _alive_!

"He's alive! He's alive!" Sirius cried, scooping the child in his arms and cradling him to his chest, planning to never let go. At once, Harry stopped crying and began gurgling contentedly.

"Let me see him!" James demanded, struggling once more against the bonds of the Body-Bind.

"You're not going to go all psycho again, are you?"

"He deserved it," James growled, eyeing the body mutinously.

"I'm not saying he doesn't, but James…" Sirius unconsciously held Harry's head closer to himself.

"He took Lily. He took everything," James repeated, his voice cracking.

"You still have Harry," Sirius reminded him softly. "And I can't very well hand over my only godson to a maniac, now, can I?" James glared at him. "I know you're hurting– Merlin, I can't even think about it right now." He cleared his throat and sniffed, "but we need to be strong for Harry."

James bit the inside of his cheek and chuckled morosely. "Who knew you'd ever be the source of reason and rationality, Padfoot?"

He gave a small smile. "I have my moments."

"Now, will you please let me hold my son?"

Sirius smirked and released his friend from the Body-Bind. James stood and dusted himself off. Sirius silently passed him Harry and James instantly cradled the child.

Harry blinked his eyes open and stared at his father. "Dada?"

"Hey, Prongslet," James whispered, reaching out his finger so that Harry could wrap his tiny fist around it. "I'm never going to let anything bad happen to you, you hear? Never. You're safe with me. Now go to sleep."

He and Sirius walked over to the wall that hadn't been blown apart by…. something and sat, leaning their backs against the plaster. "It's a miracle," Sirius breathed. "A bloody miracle. How in Morgana's name did he survive?"

"Don't know, don't care," James replied. "He's alive, and that's all that matters." They laid Harry down on their laps and leaned against each other, each offering comfort to the other in their grief.

"How am I going to be a good father without her?" James asked into the silence.

"You have me," Sirius said, "and Remus and Pe–" If not in their current predicament, the way their eyes both widened would have been comical.

"Merlin's balls! Peter!"

"That dirty rat," Sirius growled. Neither of them smiled at the joke.

"How–? Why–!?" James sputtered in fury. "That fuc– _bloody_ wanker! How dare he!? How _dare_ he!?"

"He– he was with _Him_!?" Sirius spat. "How dare he!? He betrayed us! He–" He shook his head.

"This is wrong. This is all wrong. He– he was one of us, he was a _Marauder_ , he can't have–" James ducked his head and groaned.

"He's a Marauder no longer," Sirius said. "He betrayed us, went to the Dark Side, and killed a fellow Marauder. We will find him and make him pay. Hey," he clapped James on the shoulder, "he _will_ pay."

"Thanks, Sirius."

"No problem." There was a pause.

"How could he?"

"I… have no idea. Some people have no soul." Sirius sighed. "Now, let's get some sleep."

"Too right."

.oOo.

Loud thuds echoed through the cottage. "Mmm," James mumbled. "Not yet." The thuds persisted. "Noooo."

"James. James, someone's here."

He sat upright. For the second time that night, he was awoken by Sirius in the gloom. "What?" Glancing around blearily, James saw that he was still leaning against the wall with Harry in his lap– apparently, he'd drifted off after the night's exertions. "Who's here?"

"I don't know, but considering recent events, I'd suggest we have our wits about us."

James nodded and shifted Harry so that he could stand. He held his wand in one hand and Harry in the crook of his other elbow. "Let's go."

The men traveled down the stairs silently, stunners on the tips of their tongues. They encountered the door that led to the kitchen, where the intruder had broken in. They pressed themselves against the wall on either sides of the door. Sirius held up three fingers. _On the count of three. Three._ He began folding them down. _Two._ James turned his body to block the space between his child and the doorway. _One._

Sirius kicked the door open and he and James rushed in.

" _Stupefy_!"

" _Incarcerous_!"

But the two ducked with war-honed reflexes as a spell came flying back at them. They backed up as an enormous figure bellowed and charged at them with a proportionally huge… umbrella?

"Hagrid?" James gasped.

"James?" the huge man asked. "Is tha' you? Blimey, it is! Though' you were dead, I did! I's good to see ya, lad! An' Sirius! Been a while, innit?"

"Prove who you are!" Sirius barked.

"Oh, er, I'm Rubeus Hagrid, I was expelled from Hogwarts, I am now Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts. Um, I'm part o' the Order of the Phoenix, founded by Dumbledore, I've wanted a pet dragon ever since I can remember–"

"Fine, fine we believe you," Sirius said, lowering his wand.

"God, Hagrid, you scared us half to death," James said. "But it's real good to see you as well."

"We thought you were a Death Eater," Sirius explained. "They'll be seething once news gets out their _Lord_ 's dead." He spat out "Lord" as if it were vulgar.

"So i's true, then? You-Know-Who's really… dead?"

The young men nodded before James stopped. "How'd you know that?"

"Dumbledore. I'd scarcely believed it… thought they were rumors… told meself it wouldn't do nuthin' to hope… But blimey, I am glad."

"Aren't we all?" James sighed, shifting his weight to reveal the baby on his hip.

"Where's Lily?" James drew in a sharp breath and averted his eyes to the floor, blinking rapidly. "Oh," Hagrid said simply. He drew a tablecloth-sized, spotted handkerchief from the depths of his cloak and blew his nose with the sound of a foghorn. "She was a great person, she was." They men fell into a depressed silence. "Is tha' little Harry?" Hagrid asked, to break the tension. James nodded. "He's alive then? On'y you do wonder how he did it…"

"I've no clue," James told him. "Sirius just found him in the crib and– Merlin's bollocks, what the bleeding hell is on his forehead?!"

The three men crowded around the now-awake baby, examining the child's crown. A jagged scar stretched out from the left side of the skull and branched out like a skinny bolt of lightning. It didn't look life-threatening, but beads of blood dotted the shape.

"Someone get me a cloth," James said frantically. He was handed one by Sirius and began dabbing at the wound. "How'd he get it?"

"Wha' you mean? From You-Know-Who, o' course!" Hagrid replied.

"He did this?"

"Yeah, I espect tha's the scar from when You-Know-Who tried to kill 'im," Hagrid said, looking bewildered that they didn't understand.

" _The_ scar? You mean you knew about this?" Sirius asked incredulously.

"Yeah, don' you?"

"I woke up to find my wife and the Dark Lord dead and my house half-collapsed. How could I possibly have known my son would have a scar on his forehead?" James asked.

"Oh. Well, this migh' be a bit of a shock, so you may wanna sit down," Hagrid said, gesturing towards the kitchen table, which looked remarkably clean and untouched by the attack compared to the rest of the house. James could almost see himself sitting down to dinner yesterday as happily as ever, holding hands with Lily as they took turns feeding Harry, both trying not to get splattered by the baby's food and laughing between small kisses… His chest ached and he sat down. _There'll be time to grieve later,_ he reminded himself. James shoved his emotions down and began paying attention.

"Righ', so, You-Know-Who wanted to see the end of the lot o' you – sorry for bein' blunt – and somehow, he figured ou' where you were." James and Sirius exchanged dark glances. "Don' know how he did it, but he did. After the attack, ol' Bathilda Bagshot Apparated to Headquarters and recounted the whole thing. She'd seen it on her evenin' walk. But–"

"She didn't think to call for help?" Sirius huffed.

" _But_ ," Hagrid continued, "the craziest thing was, she'd seen You-Know-Who by the crib through the window. He'd raised his wand and cast an ord'nary killin' curse, but the things is, it didn't work. Instead, it _rebounded_ on You-Know-Who. She saw 'im fall with the flash o' green light, she did, and then she 'eard little 'Arry cryin' and she Apparated down to Headquarters to tell everyone the news. Well, o' course, we all spread the news quick as we could. Once the Minister announced it, everyone in the country, possibly the world, knew that a one-year-old had survived the killing curse and defeated the darkest wizard of all time. And now, now little Harry's famous."

"Famous?" James asked.

"For defeatin' You-Know-Who, o' course. People reckon he's Saviour of the wizardin' world. He's a hero, they're callin' him the Boy Who Lived. He'll be gettin' a lotta publicity, I can tell ya that. Point is, your son is the most famous wizard in the world– you son is the Saviour. The Boy Who Lived."

James fell back in his chair and ran one hand through his hair as he processed the incredible information. Harry, his son, his _one-year-old son_ , was the Saviour of the wizarding world? The Boy Who Lived? It made no sense, but…

"It lines up," James said, stunned.

"No, it doesn't," Sirius said. "How in the hell could a one-year-old survive a killing curse? It's taken down dozens of full-grown, highly trained witches and wizards."

"Well, no one knows how he did it. Tha's the mystery of it. That's the questions everyone is asking: how'd he do it? You wouldn't happen to know, would ya?"

"I've no bloody clue," James said tiredly. "Hagrid, are you sure that's what happened? Maybe You-Know-Who missed."

"Well, that wouldn't explain how he's dead, and he'd keep firing until he hit 'is target anyway, wouldn't he?"

The three men sat back in silence, each thinking hard.

"Hagrid, how did you know where to find us?" Sirius asked slowly. "This house is protected by the Fidelius."

"Dumbledore told me."

"Why? Why are you here? Why did he send you?"

"Oh, uh." Hagrid looked down, uncomfortable. "Well, I was supposed to er, take Harry."

" _Take_ him? Take him where?" James growled, holding his child tighter, as if afraid Hagrid would snatch his son away.

"To 'is relatives," Hagrid explained, "to live there."

"Which relatives? Both Lily's parents and mine are dead."

"He's supposed to live with Lily's sister."

James and Sirius glanced at each other, horrified.

" _Petunia_?" James spluttered. "That cow? Why in the name of Merlin would Dumbledore–?"

"Well, everyone thought you were dead, see," Hagrid told James.

"Well, I'm alive and breathing right before your bleeding eyes," James spat.

"Besides, _I'm_ Harry's legal guardian," Sirius sneered. "Why wouldn't he go to me?"

"Oy, don't attack me, I'm just the messenger," Hagrid said, putting his hands up. "I don' know why Harry wouldn't have gone to you, Sirius, but i's Dumbledore. He has 'is reasons."

"Reasons that involve taking my child away from his rightful and legal guardian and placing him into the clutches of a demented demon-woman."

"James, we have to trust 'im," Hagrid said. "He's the leader of the bleedin' Order!"

"That doesn't mean anything about his concerns, or lack of, for Harry's personal safety," Sirius hissed.

"You're both on'y twen'y one. You don' know how ter raise a child. Petunia – that's what you said her name was, right? – she's older, she's got a husband, and she has a baby of her own, so she'll know how to take care of Harry."

"It's not whether she'd _know_ how that I'm worried about, it's more whether she'd actually take of him," James grumbled.

"What?" Hagrid asked. "An' why wouldn't she?"

James sighed. "Petunia and her husband, Vernon, hate all things to do with magic. Once Petunia found that she had a witch in the family, she became jealous and cruel, and their relationship deteriorated until they hated each other. Or at least Petunia did. The point is, I'm sure she'd treat Harry miserably, and I won't allow you to take him."

Hagrid waved one of his huge hands. "I'm sure i's not that bad, James. Trust me, Dumbledore knows what he's doin'."

"Wasn't this only supposed to be done if both of Harry's parents were dead?" Sirius interjected. "James, as he said, is very much still alive and kicking, so I don't see why we're still arguing. Harry stays with James."

"But James will be all by himself," Hagrid argued in vain.

Sirius glared, offended. "You think I won't stay and help? That I wouldn't help raise my own godson, especially right now? James won't be alone, not if Remus and I can help it."

"Hagrid, Harry is staying with me," James said firmly. "Please leave and inform Dumbledore of our decision."

"And tell him that if he ever tries to steal Harry away from us, we will have a _word_ with him," Sirius added.

There was no doubt in Hagrid's mind what "a _word_ " meant, and recognizing the battle was lost, he sighed. "Fine, I understand your point. I'll just be going, then." He stood, making the chair and floor groan under his weight, and raised a hand in farewell before seeing himself out the way he came.

As the back door slammed shut with a squeal, James and Sirius both sighed. They sat in companionable silence, James studying Harry's face as he slept. _The Boy Who Lived. The Saviour._

"What am I going to do?"

Sirius looked up. "First of all, it's what are _we_ going to. I meant it when I said I'd stick by you and help. In answer to your question, let me ask another question: In what regard?"

James smiled humorlessly. "Where are _we_ going to live? I mean, we can't stay here, Death Eaters will be swarming us once they get the address out of Peter."

"Why would Peter give the Death Eaters the address? He doesn't get anything out of it," Sirius said.

"He might," James explained. "Think about it from the Death Eaters' perspective. Peter gives the Dark Lord the location of the place where he meets his demise, and he's associated with us all through Hogwarts, as many of them probably remember, and we're very outspoken Light supporters. They'll think Peter was on our side all along, and he gave Voldemort the address to lure him to his death. They'll be wanting their revenge, and–" James paled.

"And?"

"And they'll want to kill Harry," he whispered.

Sirius groaned. "He's a target now. Since he defeated the Dark Lord, they'll want their revenge. And they'll want to kill _you_ too, once it gets out that you're alive."

"We have to leave. It's only a matter of time before they find Peter and get our address. Hold Harry," James said, kissing his son on the forehead before thrusting the baby into Sirius's arms. "I'll get our stuff and then we _need_ to get out of here."

James raced upstairs to find clothes when he stopped. Lily was lying on the ground exactly where he'd left her. James tensed, trying to decide quickly. But it wasn't even a choice; James knew what he'd do. " _Serva corpus_." A smooth, glossy sheen came over the body and shone for a moment before disappearing, protecting and preserving the figure. James stood and and gazed morosely at his wife before resuming his frenzied packing. Clothes, shoes, diapers, a bottle, a pacifier, the crib (shrunken, of course), toothbrushes, toothpaste, and money all went into a bag, which James then shrunk and put in his pocket. Finally, he went back to Lily, bent down, and hoisted her on his shoulders in a fireman's carry. He made his way down the stairs again, fighting off the fleeting image of him carrying a laughing Lily full of life and twirling her around the room as she screamed for him to put her down. James shook his head and continued into the kitchen.

He blinked at the sight of a motorcycle in the small kitchen. "We could just Apparate." He suggested.

"Harry wouldn't like it," Sirius called from the other side of the bike. "Besides, I am definitely not leaving this to the Death Eaters. Have you gotten everything?" He walked around the motorbike to see James carrying Lily's body and froze.

"I couldn't leave her," James whispered. "She needs a proper funeral."

Sirius bit his lip and nodded. "I'll secure Harry between us with a sticking charm," he said, doing so before hopping onto the bike himself. He jerked his head towards the motorcycle. "Well, come on, then. We haven't got all day."

James stepped forward, arranging Lily onto the seat before cramming himself into the very back. He wrapped his arms around Lily to steady her and said, "We're good to go."

"Where are we going, by the way?" Sirius asked as the engine roared to life. He drove out of the house before accelerating down the winding lane.

"North," James decided. "We'll find a small town somewhere with a cottage for rent. Then we can find Remus, settle down, and start looking for Pettigrew."

"Sounds like a plan," Sirius said before slamming the red _ascend_ button. They rose into the air and shot off into the sunrise.

Unbeknownst to them, whispers carried through the wind in praise of Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived.

 **How was it? Did you like it? Please leave a review so I know if you guys want me to continue and/or make this into a fully-fledged story! Thank you all!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello! I'm back!**

 **I'm so, so glad from all the positive reviews I got! I'm definitely continuing this just for you lovelies! Thanks you to everyone who reviewed, followed! Your support keeps me going!**

 **In response to (some) reviews:**

 **Guest (who reviewed on Dec. 27): I'll definitely take your suggestion of Dumbledore's reaction/plans into account. That sounds interesting!**

 **galbatorix1: Dumbledore will be a minor force that James and co. will have to deal with as more of an ally. And thank you for informing of the situation with Voldemort's body. I'll look into it and fix it if I have to! I'm still undecided on the Horcruxes.**

 **Sorry for taking longer than usual to update. I'm busy with forums and RL but updates should be more frequent than this; once a week at bare minimum.**

 **And, without further ado, chapter 2! Enjoy!**

"What about… here?" Sirius asked, pointing at another spot on the map.

"I don't know," James said. "We don't know anything about it."

"You've said that for every single town I've suggested," Sirius groaned. "We won't know anything about any one of these towns until we go there."

James sighed. "Fine, but then it's my turn to pick."

They'd been at it for days– trying to find someplace to live, that is. Sirius had procured a map from a "gas station" (a Muggle term James didn't recognize. For some reason there were a lot of cars and trucks there… and candy and maps. Muggles were odd.) and had suggested towns they could try to live in. Unfortunately, they had no way of finding information about the suggested places, so the past five days had been spent on the motorcycle flying from place to place. So far, James had rejected all of them. After the third day, Sirius had taken to picking places at random.

"Okay," Sirius said cheerfully as James climbed onto the motorcycle with Harry. "To Hamilton it is." And off they flew.

"Finally," James groaned as they landed with a small thud. "I think Harry's diaper needs to be changed."

Sirius finished putting an Alarm charm on his bike and looked around. "There's a huge store over there," he said, pointing. "We can see if they have a bathroom."

"Excellent."

As James changed Harry, Sirius bought food from the store. They continued into the street. Muggles were milling about a large circular street Sirius had parked by, shopping or working or doing whatever Muggles did in their daily lives. The street had many small shops on it and one big building with a sign that read "Department Store". Through the network of small houses that lined the streets stretching from the Circle, James could see an expanse of grassy, tree-covered land: a park.

James squinted up at a street sign. "Hamilton… Circle," he read. "We're at Hamilton Circle. It seems… nice enough."

"Nice enough?" Sirius said incredulously. "It has a park, a department store, and so many houses, one of them has to be for sale. I bet they have a lot of kids, too. Come on, James, you know it's perfect."

"Sirius, we can't just look at one street and decide we're going to raise a baby here."

"James, we've been looking for weeks–"

"One week."

"Fine, one week. But we've looked in literally a dozen towns. We'll look around more, please?"

James gave a long-suffering sigh. "Fine."

Sirius grabbed James's free hand and dragged him down a street that led off the Circle.

As Sirius dragged him around the small suburb, James had to admit that the town was perfect. There was a sizable, red-brick school with, as Sirius had predicted, many kids playing in the adjacent playground. As they strolled down Bakers Street, James saw one of the houses had a sign stabbed into the ground. "For sale," he read. "Padfoot, look!"

Sirius gasped. "Come on, let's check it out!" The two men rushed toward the building, through the black, wrought-iron gate, up the stone steps and to the blue-painted door, where Sirius knocked enthusiastically. After a minute, the door opened slowly to reveal a crotchety, hunched old woman in a faded red dress leaning on a cane.

"Can I help you?"

"We saw your sign out front and we'd like to look at your house, if that's okay," James said unsurely.

"Wasn't the open house yesterday?" She rubbed her forehead as if it would help her remember.

"We can come back tomorrow if…" James started.

"Oh, no, who cares– come in," she said with a grin that revealed a row of browning, gapped teeth. James stepped in, folding his free arm around Harry as well to hold him more protectively. Sirius stepped in after him and let go of the door. It crashed back into its frame with an ominous thud.

Surprisingly, the house was well-lit and warm. Thick, plush carpet lining the hallways, living room, and stairs muffled the trio's footsteps as the old lady (she introduced herself as Mrs. Burns) led them slowly around the house and described the rooms in a raspy voice.

"This is my kitchen," she wheezed. "I don't do much cooking anymore, but the equipment's in fine shape. The oven's old, and needs to be cleaned out every month, and the cabinets haven't been scrubbed in a while, but I think you'd be fine. Oh, and the ceiling fan sometimes falls, so watch out for that." Mentally, James wondered how the woman survived on her own, between her physical inhibitions and the dangers of the disrepairs. "Let me take you upstairs now." She turned unsteadily and tottered back to the entrance, where the stairs started. She moved painfully slow, her cane making muffled thumps when it came down on the steps. James and Sirius exchanged exasperated eyerolls as they followed politely behind her. Finally, they reached the second floor.

"We have two bedrooms, so you'll have one for the baby and one for yourselves," Mrs. Burns told them, pointing to dark, dusty rooms with yet more carpeting.

James raised his eyebrows. "Oh, no, we're not together," he said awkwardly, gesturing between Sirius and himself.

"What?" she called from two steps away, touching her ear. "Speak up!"

"Never mind," James called. "We can just add on another room," he whispered to Sirius. "Stop laughing!"

Before Sirius could reply, Mrs. Burns called, "And here's the bathroom. We might have another one somewhere, but I don't quite remember where it is… eh, you'll figure it out." She turned and smiled. "So, what do you think?"

"We…" Sirius looked at James, considering. "We think it's very nice. How much?"

"£20,000," she stated in a tone that told them the price was nonnegotiable. "You can pay me monthly, if you like."

"Let us discuss it really quick?" James asked. He turned to Sirius and hissed, "How many galleons is that?"

"I don't know… like 4,000?"

"Do we have that much?"

"Between the two of us, I think we'll be alright. Let's just take it and pay her later."

"We'd have to go all the way back to Gringotts!"

"So? We can just apparate." Sirius pushed past his friend, and before James could stop him, he said, "We'll take it!"

Mrs. Burns looked startled. "You'll take the house now? After just one viewing? Just like that?" Sirius stammered and tried to backtrack when she smiled widely, showing her teeth again. "Well, that's a nice surprise. I've been wanting to be rid of this place for a while."

"We don't have the money quite yet, though," James said.

"Well, I'll need a down payment, at least."

"We can get a down payment and a monthly payment to you in an hour," Sirius told her. "Could you… wait until then?"

She frowned. "I… will make an exception just this once."

"Thank you, Mrs. Burns. We'll see you later then," Sirius said, and he grabbed James's shoulder, steering him down the stairs and out of the house.

Once they were outside, James wrenched his shoulder from Sirius's grasp. "What were you thinking!? We didn't look at anything else! We saw it once, and you accepted! I'm going right back in there to let her know the deal's off!"

"James, no!" Sirius blocked his way to the door. "Listen, I know it was spontaneous, but I'm tired of looking! And all those things she mentioned are easily fixed. It's a great place! Name one thing that we couldn't handle." James looked as if he was thinking hard, but when his silence continued, Sirius said, "Exactly!"

"But this is a huge decision, Pads. Of all times for you to be spontaneous, it was when we were buying a house!"

"But, you admitted, there's nothing wrong with the house I did pick spontaneously," Sirius said cheekily.

James stared Sirius down, all the while searching for some leverage. Finally, he conceded. "Fine. We'll buy the house. But, savor this moment because it is one of the rare times you are right."

Sirius gasped in mock-hurt. "How dare you!? I thought we were brothers!"

James rolled his eyes. "Just let me get to Gringotts and buy this house." He handed Harry to Sirius carefully. "Take care of him."

Sirius saluted. "Meet me by the motorcycle. See you in a bit."

"See you." And, though his every instinct was screaming not to leave his family, James turned on his heel and disappeared with a pop.

 **What'd you think? I know it was not emotional or fluffy or action-packed (not very interesting in general) but the few chapters will be, I PROMISE! Please read and review, follow and favorite!**


	3. All My Fault

**Hello! I'm back!**

 **I'm so, so sorry it's been so long (almost three weeks: YIKES!). RL has been kicking my butt, especially with exams. But they'll all be over tomorrow, so I had some time to finish this chapter. The updates will be MUCH more frequent now!**

 **And, without further ado, chapter 3! Enjoy!**

* * *

Sirius strolled down the street, jangling his keys nervously in one hand and carrying Harry with the other. As soon as James had Apparated away, his cool facade had dropped. He couldn't help but glance over his shoulder every few seconds, searching for the very real possibility that Death Eaters would Apparate right in front of him and cart him and Harry away to their deaths. The blood purists would be on the hunt for vengeance.

He was startled out of his thoughts by a small yawn. He looked down into his arms and saw a pair of bright green orbs staring at him. "Pa'foo'?"

"Hey, little one," he said softly. "How was your nap?"

"Where dada?"

"He'll be back soon, Harry."

"Mama?"

Sirius's heart nearly broke at the hopeful expression on his godson's face. "No, Harry, she's not here right now."

"Mama?"

"I'm sorry," Sirius whispered.

"Mama!"

"Please stop… I'm sorry, she's not here right now. "

Unfortunately, Harry just screamed. Alarmed, Sirius held Harry close and rubbed his back, shushing him as he fought the lump in his throat. Picking up the pace until he was practically running, Sirius's breath became ragged, and soon he was hyperventilating, sprinting towards somewhere, anywhere where he could just breathe.

Finally, Sirius found an alleyway and ducked into it. He slid down the wall, holding a screaming, magically unstable baby and trying not to feel like he was suffocating. Sirius somehow managed to gently set Harry down on the floor before the panic attack overcame him. He put his head between his knees and tried to get rid of the stabbing, gripping pains in his chest, but images of Lily, unbidden just swam in front of his face. Lily at graduation. Lily at her wedding. Lily holding Harry. Lily happy. Lily alive. And then Lily dead on the floor.

Sirius whimpered and forced his eyes open– he hadn't even realized he'd closed them. He looked at his hands. They were shaking. And, he realized, so was the rest of his body. It's my fault, it's all my fault it's all my fault….

"Pa'foo'?"

I was the secret keeper, it's all my fault all my fault all my fault…

"Pa'foo' sad?"

Sirius didn't answer as his chest was seized by pain once again. He dug his nails into his palms, desperate for a handhold on the world. Then he felt two little, sweaty hands on grip his arms.

With a tremendous effort, he looked up and saw Harry leaning on him as he tried to stand and hug his godfather at the same time. Harry patted Sirius's face and Sirius realised he too had tears dripped down his cheeks. Harry wobbled on his legs and Sirius scooped him up in a hug in an instant. And even in the cold alleyway, the godfather and godson sat, each unknowingly providing comfort to the other as they cried together for a mother and a sister.

After a time, Sirius forced himself to pick up his head. "Thanks, Prongslet," he whispered.

Harry, who had now calmed down, nodded, as if satisfied with his work, and sat back down heavily on the stone floor of the alley, fascinating himself with Sirius's jacket. Sirius found that he could breathe shakily, his shaking hands and a knot of anxiety in his stomach the only remnants of the panic attack.

Taking a moment to collect himself, Sirius stood and picked up his godson, remarking how stiff his legs were. He must have been huddled in the alley longer than he thought. Sirius Vanished the tears from his face, shook out his hair so that it fell with all its usual elegant grace, and continued walking.

Finally, the pair reached the curb where Sirius's motorcycle was parked. Luckily, it seemed as though nothing had happened to it, and Sirius set Harry on the seat as they waited for James.

After just two minutes, Sirius's canine senses heard the pop of Apparition a few blocks away. But he'd told James to meet him here…

Watching carefully for his friend, Sirius picked Harry back up again and clenched his wand in his pocket. The knot of anxiety in his stomach grew and something – he couldn't identify exactly what – pulsated and vibrated in his ears. Something wasn't right.

And then the world disappeared, and Sirius was being squeezed through a dark tube until he felt that his lungs would collapse.

The world reappeared, but Sirius was back in the alley? He looked down and was relieved to find Harry still in his arms. But the child was whimpering and his huge eyes darted around, looking for a threat.

That same vibrating something pulsed in Sirius's ears again, but now that it was closer to him, he could identify it – magic. A magical signature, to be exact. And one that he recognized.

"Dumbledore," he whispered.

With a pop, the old man made himself visible and Sirius stumbled backward in surprise. "What the–"

"Sirius, my boy!" the headmaster said in his usual grandfatherly tone, but now it was muddled by something else. "I'm so very glad I found you!"

"What are you doing here?! What do you want with me? How did you find me?"

He chuckled. "So many questions. Then, you always were a rather bright student."

"You're avoiding answering. How did you find me?"

"Your magical signature, of course, the same way you identified me. That was very clever, by the way."

"You were the one that brought us here!" Dumbledore's eyes twinkled in the way they did when a student answered a question correctly on their transfiguration homework. "You side-along Aparrated a baby! He could be seriously damaged!"

"Oh, he's quite alright, just a little shaken up."

"'A little shaken up'? Even some teenagers hurl their first time Apparating!"

"We've only gone a few blocks."

"So you couldn't have just talked to us where we were?"

"I am hardly aiming to violate the Statue of Secrecy, my boy! Besides, our topic of conversation is somewhat… delicate."

"How so?"

"Well, as you very well know, Voldemort invaded the Potters' cottage on October 31. But it was under the Fidelius charm, and he could not have found it unless–"

"Unless the secret keeper divulged the information," Sirius whispered.

"Yes." Dumbledore smiled, though it held only pain. "And I think we both know who did just that."

"Yes, I do know that. But what does that have to do with me other than getting revenge?"

For possibly the first time in his life, Dumbledore looked genuinely shocked. "Revenge? Oh, you've fallen much farther than I'd thought. Sirius, this has everything to do with you. You were the secret keeper."

Sirius stood stock-still at the accusation.

"I'm afraid I have no choice but to take you to Azkaban now. I'll also be taking Harry to live with his aunt, where he belongs." Sirius glued his eyes to a patch of pavement behind Dumbledore. "Come on, now. You couldn't have thought you'd get away that easily."

"You can't have Harry," Sirius said quietly. He lifted his head and stared at the headmaster defiantly. "He will go with James."

"Sirius, you are, frankly, a murderer." Sirius's protests died in his throat as the words landed. He couldn't breathe again; he felt like the air had been forced out of him and replaced with boiling shame.

"You will be in Azkaban for life," Dumbledore continued. "This is non-negotiable. Harry will be going to his aunt's."

"What about James?"

"James is twenty-one and completely devastated. He is not suited to raise a baby. Now hand the child over or I will have to use force."

"And did you ever stop to think there was a reason Harry's aunt isn't devastated?"

"Sirius, be reasonable–"

"I am being reasonable!" Sirius screamed. "She hated Lily! She doesn't care, and she won't care for Harry! James can do it! He will do it!"

"You leave me with no choice."

"No!" Sirius snarled and drew his wand and slashed it through the air, deflecting the locomotor mortis. He sent a hex back, and Dumbledore sent a stupefy back– straight towards Harry's head.

It was all Sirius could do to fling his wand to the side and stick his arm in the way.

Sirius felt his body become numb immediately, and he collapsed. No! He thought as he realized too late that if he fell, Harry would too, with no one holding him. But miraculously, the child stayed in the air.

He saw a pair of robed arms take his godson, and Dumbledore's face appeared over him. "Levitation charm," he said condescendingly. "Good riddance, Sirius Bl–" Dumbledore looked up, alarmed, and Sirius could have sworn he saw James's face before he blacked out.

 **What'd you think? Please leave a review and let me know what you think!**


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